You can never have too many books...

 Disclosure: Honey and Ace have been gifted three Tales by Mail boxes in exchange for honest reviews and social media content.

It's safe to say, we are big readers in our house. If we aren't out and about, enjoying the fresh air, you can usually find one or more of us curled up with a book.

As a primary school teacher, I am acutely aware of the benefits that reading affords children. From the moment they're born, reading is a brilliant way to bond with your child. Bedtime stories are an obvious place to start, the book doesn't even need to have any words, babies love black and white pictures and they also love the sound of your voice, so you can make up any story you like or just read to them from whatever you're reading at the time! 

Photo Credit: Oobaloos Photography

Toddlers love books, the colours and pictures are obviously most attractive at this age, but seeing words written down on the page and learning to turn pages by themselves are valuable lessons in becoming a reader. From an early age, we introduced half an hour of book time for Honey and Ace, once all the toys were tidied away for the day. Often, we would be reading the same couple of books on repeat (depending on their current favourites), but eventually this turned into them joining in with the stories or reciting facts and asking questions if it was a non fiction book. 

On the subject of non fiction books, don't dismiss them or forget about them! Toddlers and pre school children develop their own interests - often bordering on being obsessions - and finding out about them is a great way to bond and spend time together. Libraries are your friend here, we are lucky enough to live in a large town, with multiple libraries, so we are spoilt for choice and can visit different venues depending on their book stock. Not only can we spend time reading in a comfortable environment, we can also take books home to borrow for free (having to return them is a lesson in itself and often resulted in us renewing favourites for another stint).

As children get older and learn to read by themselves, the flood gates open and they can travel to far off lands without even leaving the house. Sometimes, children hit a stumbling block here, as things can get tricky, but with time and patience they can learn to love reading once again. During this time, don't stop reading to your child, even if they're playing and you don't think they're really listening, or they're tired and can't stay awake for a whole story, reading to them will pay off in terms of the vocabulary they are exposed to and the ideas they can develop based on stories and information they hear. You can also encourage them to make up stories using pictures or objects as stimuli.

If your child becomes disheartened on their reading journey, find a new way in. If they don't want to read their school reading books, what do they want to read? Information signs, comics, leaflets, books from their own bookshelves and even websites all contain words that your child can begin to use their phonic knowledge to decode. Encourage your child to ask and answer questions about their reading matter, this will really help them develop their comprehension skills too. 

Online stories, eBooks and virtual book clubs may be another way you can motivate your child to find something they enjoy reading. Or perhaps giving them a book shop voucher as a birthday gift may inspire them to pick up a book they don't want to put down.

Recently, we have been working with Tales by Mail, an award winning company who supply book subscription boxes for children. There are two age groups available, 5-8 years and 8-12 years. Each box contains 2 newly released books (so it's unlikely you'll already have them sitting on your bookshelf), collectible activity pages, exclusive author content and unique gifts and surprises. You can even request a sibling box, which contains double the activities and gifts. As well as the subscription option, you can also check out past boxes and purchase those if you like the look of them! This is such a great way to ignite a passion for reading or to encourage your children to try reading something new.

Oh and a warning from me, kids books are addictive. We keep having to buy more bookshelves because I find it impossible to let many children's books go and whenever we hand books down or sell any, we inevitably buy more books! As I'm always telling my children, you can never have too many books ;-)

Honey wears... Butterfly dress (preloved H&M)

Honey reads... The Borrowers

Duck on Call from Playmobil...

 Ad|Gifted

Duck on Call is the brilliant new range from Playmobil and Ace was lucky enough to be gifted two pieces from the range to review, DUCK ON CALL - Ambulance Emergency Vehicle and DUCK ON CALL - Ambulance Action: Help the Racing Driver. 

Firstly, the packaging is eye catching, bright and engaging. Before even opening the box, Ace was talking about the different parts of the vehicle he could see, as well as detailing the role play games he was planning once he'd built the vehicles. He was so excited to see the ambulance, Daddy is a paramedic, so lots of Ace's play features paramedics and ambulances. Ace was happy that the boxes didn't have any plastic elements to them, so he could put it straight in the recycling box. 

On opening the cardboard box, we were pleased to see minimal, single use plastic inside. There were a few numbered bags, each containing small parts to be used in the construction of the vehicles and accessories. The bags themselves are made from recycled plastic and can be recycled again, along with your other soft plastics at the supermarket.

Ace found the vehicles fairly easy to put together (he's at the top end of the suggested age range for these toys). He followed the picture instructions with no problems and only needed a little help to secure a couple of pieces. I think he was afraid of pushing bits too hard incase he broke them, but I can confirm that everything went together securely and without any breakages, with a slightly firmer hand. Ace also got to use his fine motor skills to put stickers on the vehicles, which he loved doing.

While these toys are undeniably made from plastic, it is far from single use and definitely not flimsy. We own Playmobil from the 1980's and it's still going! Both Duck on Call toys we were given are strong and sturdy and look set to provide Ace and then countless other children after him, hours and hours of fun!  

One of my favourite things about Playmobil is its strong links to real life, it really lends itself to role playing games. This morning, as Honey and Ace played with the new Duck on Call sets, they were discussing first aid (including whether to take a racing driver's helmet off after a crash) and the correct number for our emergency services ("it's definitely 999 in our country, but you'd call 911 if you were on holiday in America"), as well as showing empathy for others.

Another thing I love about Playmobil, is how seamlessly the sets can be used together. People, vehicles and accessories can all be interchanged, allowing your little ones to create their own, imaginative worlds together. So, whether you're thinking about purchasing your first set, or you're adding to a collection, we're sure you will love Duck on Call as much as we do!

Check out the Playmobil website for Duck on Call activities, including colouring, hat and badge making, educational activities and character information posters. You can also purchase the sets via their website.

Ace wears... Vitamin Sea sweatshirt: A charity shop find, customised by Mummy.